Gulden Draak | Brouwerij Van Steenberge N.V.

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Reviews by carnoustie7:

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A- Interesting little stubby bottle that is Hugglemonster white in color....the beer?...well its a rich dark ruby/brown color and is yeast hazed in a very creamy way....the head is caramel colored, densely built, and retains very well, leaving behind a thick-ish layer over the beer itself! The lacing is excellent with a nice uneven bubble grid all around, however, it doesn't cling very well after movement, and is slightly oily on the side of the glasses' surface....still, a very impressive look!

T- There is an entire medley of exploding flavors on the palate....most likely too many to analyze! Deep toffee/caramel/molasses, slight maple, autumn/pumpkin pie spices,(think nutmeg), light cinnamon notes, dried dark fruits such as plum, figs, raisins, black cherry....even apples.....Slightly rummy! Yeasty cake like sweetness that could be taken as ginger bread/cake...semi sweet, with a finish that reminds me of milk chocolate blended with a small amount of freshly brewed coffee....the finish on the plate is surprisingly clean, yet there is a lingering sticky depth that makes me want the next sip immediately!

M/O- Overall, this is an incredible brew that I cannot believe I have not had up until this point! I can only imagine this on tap and can only imagine even more how this would be aged! Tight carbonation, buttery smooth and this is probably the most well hidden alcohol that I have ever experienced within a beer, especially for 10.5%! I need a case of this on hand at all times and look forward to a trip to Belgium because of this lovely nectar! Most recommended......

This beer pours a dark ruby color with a large sustaining head. The aroma hits me with fresh dark fruit, red currant, plum, black cherry, as well as bubblegum and rose hip. The flavor starts with red currant and black cherry, with a nice tart-sweet balance, as well as bubblegum, subtle banana, and a rich candy flavor at the end. The mouthfeel is full but wonderfully fizzy. Overall this is a spectacular beer providing waves of flavor that crash over my tongue, each proving a new level to examine.

Gulden Draak is a one-of-a-kind Belgian. You can tell upon inspection that it's going to be rich and imposing. The beer pours a surprisingly dark, turbid shade of molasses. The aroma is somewhere between caramel and dulce de leche with some earthy notes, maybe raisins and cloves. It has the familiar sweet lace of all tripels with some well-balanced savory malts. The combination produces a boozey mouthfeel like a fortified wine or grappa. It's a strong, unique beer.

Oh yeah--dark and inviting with that beautiful Belgian-style lacing draped on the glass. Aromas of toffee, licorice root, taffy and cake batter, with hints of bubblegum and peppery alcohol, and a faintness of raisins. Smooth and a little chewy, with a slick, medium body. A tad thick on the malt sweetness to start, the alcohol soon turns the tides with a very warming, peppery alcohol. The sweetness comes in with a layer of toffee, some red grape skin and a suggestion of cooked vegetables, which fades quickly. The peppery flavor meets a dry, toasted, biscuity flavor middle to end. Finishes slightly alcoholic and sweet.

A big, tasty treat here; complex, yet dangerously inviting, as the sweetness melds well with the alcohol. Reminiscent of a young Port wine, so obviously Gulden Draak is a perfect candidate to throw at just about any cheese that has a blue vein running through it.

An excellent overall beer. Unique character, a modern take on traditional brewing methods. Unlike some US mutations of the Belgian Tripel, it is not overly hoppy. It is actually one of the few beers my girlfriend and thoroughly enjoy together.

Taste is innovative and complex - cloves, bananas, cinnamon(?). A little fruitcake-y but not too much so and definitely stops short of a gueuze.

Everything else was excellent about the beer. The feel is not oppressively heavy and, as mentioned, not overly carbonated.

I prefer the 9000 version of the beer which is slightly more boozy in flavor (and reality). But this is a solid second.

Okay let me preface this by saying I'm no expert on Belgian strong dark ales...new territory here. Last similar-ish beer I had was Finch's Nuclear Winter and despite my hometown <3', this is much better.
First, cool ass bottle and classy sounding af. The next part is the looks, perhaps my favorite aspect. Huge puffy head with peaks and valleys. Dark brownish color with a ruby shimmer in the light, can't see through shit. And the best part is I let this sit for 10 minutes after pouring and the bubbles persisted, but the real magic was the vertical linear formation of them: it looked straight like the letters from The Matrix and I ain't even trippin'!
As for the smell. Very complex. Sugary caramel sweetness. Most present are dark fruits: figs, dates, a lil grape, and that one that makes you shit. Oh yeah, prunes. A touch of chocolate even. And a bit of booze.
The flavor is intense, but more approachable than expected (tho I was expecting a knockout punch) its big, but at the same time, drinkable...sip by sip. I like high abv beers but don't enjoy overly boozy flavors. This is good. The alcohol is there in a background warming sort of way, not an obnoxious boozy way. I think considering its 10.5% it is masked rather well tbh. Idk my palate isn't used to this style the way it is for others yet but this isn't bad at all. On the contrary it's quite good. The mouthfeel I want to say is medium.
Overall I give it a 92. im actually surprised by how massive yet inoffensive this was. glad I picked up this bottle of Gulden Draak. Very pleased. Hope to revisit this beer (and style) again sometime in the near future.

A dark amber pour with an exceptional tan head. Seems like a very lively beer.

The nose is very appetizing. A nice full, malty nose some hoppiness and sweet caramel notes. A little bit of spice is in there too along with a hint of raisiny sweetness.

Lovely. Just lovely. The dryness off the tops quickly turns into a nice honey sweetness that's not overpowering. A little bit of raisin and plum are mixed in nicely. Good hop count & nice maltiness give this beer well rounded body.

A nice full beer with a lively and bubby mouthfeel. Some dryness towards the end. Alcohol warmth in the finish.

Look (4.5/5) ~ Deep coppery with some really nice red and orange tones in it (the colour gives the impression of fullness and richness). Given the abv, the head was great: it was very moussy, and fell exceptionally slowly with some nice lacing. Towards the clear side of hazy.
Smell (4/5) ~ spot on for the style. Rich complex maltiness plays off of some really nice yeast notes with a subtle spicy and earth y hop presence. Malt is strongly of the Munich/Vienna type variety with some nice melanoidin notes (plums, prunes, dried apricots); there is also a faint smokiness to the nose. You get a lot of the fruity and floral notes that you’ expect from this style.
Taste (4.5/5) ~ very good. Maltiness was front and centre and the beer was malty-sweet in balance (though I’d still say it was in with the Trappist versions and not the very sweet Abbey ones). I get a whole lot of Munich/Vienna melanoidins and all the fruitiness they bring (plum, prune, dried apricot); but there was also a smoke – not burnt mind you – note that reminded me a bit of very fine tobacco, which I liked a lot. The finish, which would otherwise be sweet is gets a lot of spice and gentle alcohol to balance everything out well. Floral and fruity yeast notes round it out. Some very mild earthy hops and enough bitterness to achieve some nice balance.
Feel (4/5) ~ pretty much what you’d expect: relatively gentle carb and pretty heavy in terms of body. I’d describe it as achieving a pretty silky/velvety feel well.

I’ve had more a few of this style and I’d have to say that this is more of the most compelling versions. I really liked the complexity of the malts, especially with that cigar/tobacco note that was played up. I think the spiciness and bitterness were great foils for the otherwise overwhelming sweetness. Kudos to the brewers!

330ml brown bottle, painted white. No freshness date ... as if you need one at 10.5% alcohol by volume!

Poured in a proper gold-laced Gulden Draak tulip glass, this beer offers a very dark ruddy-brown colour with a mountainous off-white foam head that retains extremely well and trails the glass with its stick -- it's all about the glass.

Flavour is blissful ... ultra-malty, smooth, soft and sweet with strong Belgian candy sugar flavours, light chocolate (more like malted-milk) and semi-burnt caramel edges. I can't stress the sugary character of this beer enough, it's without a doubt sweet, but not in a sickly manner. Carbonation induces a creamy sensation on the palate and aids in slightly subduing the maltiness, while a defining herbal flavour complements, creating a sweet tea-like infusion. Alcohol is there, but it's very devious and nearly undetectable, but it does lend quite a bit of spicy flavour that adds to the overall pepperiness of the beer. A warming sensation hits the head about half-way thru as you slip into beerdom. Finish goes dry with a soft, woody, yeast character.

This beer doesn't pussy-foot around. It's serious, complex, mysterious (alcohol-wise), demands respect and if you're not careful it'll walk up to you and kick your freagin' ass! One of my favourites, and simply a classic amongst Belgian beers.

Solid Belgium strong ale. I don't think I would put it over Chimay but it does give it a run for its money .I do like the look of the beer and how the head retains in the glass. Smooth finish to this beer. Solid staple if you are looking for a easily accessible year around Belgium.

Aroma is dark fruits, some light milky chocolate, and very sweet caramel. Raisin and red grapes are very noticeable. Definitely some alcohol present, which pairs nicely with the red grapes, giving it an aroma reminiscent of a red wine.

First sip reveals some incredible complexity. Lots of sweetness up front, which pairs with some melted caramel and raisin. Red grapes, fig, and brown sugar. A good deal of alcohol warmth.

Appearance  The body is a beautiful, almost glowing brown and somewhat clear. I couldnt work a head to save my life, which is not unusual for some of these high ABV ales.

Smell  The huge malt and alcohol nose fills the room. This one is super sweet with lots of crushed, soggy, alcohol-soaked fruits such as cherries (lots of cherries), raisins, star fruit, some banana, and figs.

Taste  My Lord, this is thick. Its almost like a malt/fruit syrup soaked in booze. All the notes from the smell come out at the tongue, especially the figs and cherries. This is really strong.

Mouthfeel  No carbonation but very thick and sweet.

Drinkability  This would make a great dessert ale or a fine aperitif, which is what I used it for.

Comments  This one was difficult to rate. It lacked some classic aspects of the BSDA style such as big, fluffy carbonation and dominant malts, yet scored big on the blend of fruits and booze. I was therefore reserved in my rating but expressed my enthusiasm for this ale in the Drinkability category.

BTW  This comes in a really unique solid white bottle. My label fell off when I pulled it from the fridge, so it looked like somebodys home brew. Cool.

Update  I originally rated this from an 03 bottle so thought Id take another crack with an 05. The head came up a bit better and the ale seemed more balanced. It wasnt as boozy, had more yeasty notes, and carbonation was a bit tighter. I changed the ratings around a bit, but any way you cut it this is a good beer.

Update  The 2007 is a real gem. It's buttery smooth, shows some killer yeast, and hides every bit of alcohol.

I'm frequently amazed how some thousands of reviews later, I keep coming across beers that I've drank for ~020 years that I haven't written a review for. Anyways, pours a light amber color with a thin white but not virgin white color that is thin and around 1/4" deep. The smell kicks down a hot alcohol burn, some caramel and apple notes.

Taste still drops the apple notes and the alcohol burn is still the most prominent thing about the beer. Every time I've had this, I have always wondered why such punishing alcohol gets a pass taste and mouth feel wise from people. It is really oppressive, there isn't much in the way of other flavors to help carry it. Its like those hot sauces that are just hot, that provide little other flavor to it. Once you get as accustomed as you can to the heat, you can pick up notes of raisin and other dark fruit from the yeast profile.

A: Mahogany body with a fluffy off-white head.
S: Vinous.
T: Eugh! Peppy, sharp AND very syrupy. Doesn't work at all. Phenolic with big liquorice and marzipan. Has the zing of a tripel but the flavour of a quad. It's like the bastard child of an English barley wine, a quad, and a tripel. Doesn't work! It's making me want to chuck, like a childhood medicine, or ice cream soda. I'm gonna spew......!!!!
O: Jeez!

Poured from a 11.2 oz bottle into a nice sized Tulip glass. I poured specifically to induce a huge head which didn't take much work - this beer is very volatile. Deep, deep brown-tan (almost with a touch of gold) color with a nearly off-white head. Lacing all up and down the glass, the head retained extremely well. The beer smelled mildly fruity (figs, berries) with a bit of yeast, biscuits, malts, and deep spices which I couldn't clearly identify.

The beer tastes of a nice combination of crispy biscuits, fresh malt, raisins, figs, slight pepper, and burnt caramel sugars. Mild sweetness with a proper alcohol burn shadowing the entire process. For something so high-gravity (10.5% ABV), the alcohol is present, yet concealed well enough to not be troublesome. The beer has plenty of carbonation which really helps the potency of the aroma and the flavor. Body isn't very thick but the beer remains creamy and ends with a crisp, yeasty finish.

Overall, a very delectable Belgian ale which, at a well concealed 10.5% ABV, can sneak up on you if you're not careful. If it wasn't for the large price tag, I would drink this beer much more frequently.